Star Wars is set to have a big year in 2026, and not just due to the highly anticipated premiere of Maul: Shadow Lord. The franchise will return to movie theaters for the first time in seven years with the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu, a continuation of the Disney+ series that first premiered back in 2019. The film is currently scheduled for release on May 22, and it will arrive in theaters around the world mere weeks after the conclusion of Star Wars’ first Disney+ series. Darth Maul has been one of Star Wars’ most intriguing characters for years now, dating back to his first appearance in The Phantom Menace, but he’s been more of a supplementary piece in the projects he’s appeared in, like Clone Wars and Rebels.

Maul: Shadow Lord was announced at Star Wars Celebration last year, and the show will finally debut its first two episodes next week on April 6. The series brings back long-time Darth Maul voice actor Sam Witwer, who is also famous for his work voicing Starkiller in The Force Unleashed games. Maul: Shadow Lord isn’t just one of the most anticipated Star Wars projects of the year; it’s expected to be one of the hottest TV shows of 2026. The demand for more episodes of Maul: Shadow Lord is already so high that Star Wars has decided to renew the show for Season 2 before the arrival of the first. It’s unclear at this time when Maul: Shadow Lord Season 2 will premiere, but producer Athena Yvette Portillo confirmed to Collider just yesterday that some other projects in the works will likely be prioritized ahead of more Maul episodes.

What Is the Release Schedule for ‘Maul: Shadow Lord’?

The first two episodes of Maul: Shadow Lord, “The Dark Revenge” and “Sinister Schemes,” will be released on April 6. Episodes 3 and 4, titled “Whispers in the Unknown” and “Pride and Vengeance,” will air on April 13. Episodes 5 and 6, “Inquisition” and “Night of the Hunted,” will arrive on April 20. Episodes 7 and 8, “Call to the Oblivion” and “The Creeping Fear,” will premiere on April 27, before the final two episodes air on May 4. Episode 9 is titled “Strange Allies,” but the Season 1 finale title has not yet been revealed.

Maul: Shadow Lord, which begins streaming on Disney+ on April 6.

via Collider